Cigarette imports again on the rise in South Korea

South Korea’s cigarette imports increased last year after contracting for four straight years despite the government’s having hiked tobacco taxes in an effort to discourage smoking, according to a Yonhap News Agency report citing Korea Customs Service (KCS) data.

Between 2014 and 2015, volume imports rose by 128.1 percent to 1,877 tons while the value of those imports increased by 117.3 percent to more than US$34.56 million.

Between 2013 and 2014, import volume dropped by 15.4 percent to 823 tons and the value of those imports fell by 14.4 percent to US$15.9 million.

Imports peaked during 2011 when the country paid US$38.7 million for 1,945 tons of cigarettes.

The KCS said that 22.7 percent of all imports [presumably all cigarette imports during 2015] were from Germany, 15.1 percent were from Poland and 14.8 percent were from Lithuania.

Meanwhile, the growth of imports of electronic cigarettes was said to have slowed from the 342 percent recorded in 2014 to 33.3 percent last year, with the volume in 2015 reaching 196 tons and the value of those imports at $13.52 million.

Ninety four point five percent of electronic cigarette imports and roughly half of e-liquid imports (86 tons and US$5.37 million in 2015) came from China.